My New Blog (With Link)

I want to blog about things besides just books, so after some thought I decided to start a new blog... and I've started to hate Blogger so I'm jumping ship to Word Press. Since I hardly update Book Infinity anymore, I don't know if I even still have followers that care about me. But in case I do, and you want to follow my current expeditions in life, here is the link to my blog:

http://thesethingsivedone3432.wordpress.com/

I will still review books when I get to read them, but I will also talk more about writing, and my other huge obsession: music. I will probably spend many a posts ranting about my favorite bands... like I did in my intro post.

So if you're into that sort of thing, check out These Things I've Done!

YA Books Becoming Movies In 2013

The purpose of this post is not to talk about how movies ruin books (because we all know a movie is NEVER as good as the book). It is not to talk about whether or not they should make all these movies. It is also not to talk about how horrible the casting is for any of them... we all know Hollywood can't cast exactly who you thought of in your head.

I also know readers who will never see the movie of a book they've read because it ruins the book for them. If that's you- I get it, and don't read the rest of this post!

Personally I love to watch the movie, if only to criticize it, or I might even end up loving it (For example, I love The Hunger Games movie almost as much as the book.)

I'm mostly writing this post as a way to remember all these dates of the many movies coming out in 2013 based on YA books. There are so many this year, I think Hollywood is running out of their own creative ideas, so they're turning to YA books. I'm not complaining!

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Beautiful Creatures

Release Date: Feb. 13 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559547/

Get More: Emmy Rossum, Emma Thompson, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

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The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones 

Release Date: August 23, 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538403/

Get More: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Jamie Campbell Bower, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

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The Host (Not technically YA, but still)

Release Date: March 29, 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1517260/

Get More: Jake Abel, Saoirse Ronan, William Hurt, Diane Kruger, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

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Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

Release Date: August 16, 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1854564/

No trailer yet.

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Ender's Game

Release Date: Nov 1 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1731141/

No trailer yet.

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Catching Fire

Release Date: November 22, 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1854564/

No trailer yet.

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Honorable Mention:

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (doesn't really count as YA or 2013, but I'm still uber-excited!)

Release Date: Dec. 14 2012

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903624/

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The Great Gatsby

Release Date: 10 May 2013

IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343092/

Summer Reading Goals

Pretty simple, what the title says: my goals for this summer in terms of reading. Most of this is stuff I want to read to prepare for college and be educated, a lot of it is stuff I feel like I "should" read. And some of it is stuff I'm just plain excited to get in my hands!

Books I started long ago that I want to finish:
Atonement by Ian McEwan (40% complete)
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (80% complete)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (90% complete)
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (20% complete)
Paper Towns by John Green (20% complete)

Classic books- I hope to read 3 from this list:
Anthem by Ayn Rand (or anything by her)
Tales of the Jazz Age by F. Scott Fitzergerald
The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzergald
Oliver Twist or something by Charles Dickens (I would love to say I've read one of his books)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Duman
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells (I read this in 6th grade and I want to see if it's anything like I remember)

Ok... let's be realistic. I hope to finish 1 or 2 from that list! That list was taken straight from all the public domain books I've downloaded on my kindle. :)

Books on my shelf I want to read:
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Secret Life by Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Welcome to Harmony by Jodi Thomas
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami
Wither by Lauren DeStefano
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Not on my shelf, but hopefully will be soon:
Insurgent by Veronia Roth
Sweetly by Jackson Pearce
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Just saw the movie and loved it! Sidenote: I like watching the movie first because if I read the book first, the movie is always disappointing.)
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (the 1st one was one of my favorite summer reads last summer)
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare (not much to say... she's one of my favorite authors who ever graced this Earth)
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult (or anything by her, she's one of my new favorites)
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

FINAL GOAL: Finish 1 book a week this summer. Which would be a huge improvement on the fact that I've read about 5 books all year so far. That means 17 books (based on my own school schedule- I have a very long summer that started yesterday and ends halfway through September). Which actually shouldn't be that hard when I think about how I used to read that much all the time. Although I do have a full time job and I'm preparing to move out. So we'll see...


EDIT (Nov. 2012):
An update on what I actually read...
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Paper Towns by John Green
I tried to read Insurgent by Veronica Roth but I never finished it... just didn't like it as much as the first one. Probably will come back to.
Needless to say I didn't make much progress on the classics...

A Short Little Update

Here goes, I'm just gonna talk about my life reading/non reading for a little while, because every once in a while I miss blogging.

I'm finishing my senior year- one week left of finals and then I'm done. Graduation is in 2 weeks! I'm enrolling in college at Oregon State University this fall (go Beavers!), I'm majoring in pre-med, and other than that, I have no plans! I am so excited to start a new chapter of my life.

The last book I read was the Kite Runner by  Khaled Hosseini... it was really good, a little slow, but powerful. I read it because my English teacher said it was her all time favorite book. It's not one of my all time favorites, but I liked it a lot. (4/5 stars).

I read so much "classic" literature in the past school year in my English class- it took up most of my pleasure reading time, but I enjoyed having these titles under my belt. I read Fahrenheit 451, Things Fall Apart, Lord of the Flies, Crime and Punishment, The Stranger, The Poisonwood Bible, Night, Hamlet, Man's Search for Meaning, and probably a few others that I don't remember. Some I liked more than others. My favorite was The Poisonwood Bible because it was just fantastic, but I also really liked Crime and Punishment just because I can say I've read it, not so much because I enjoyed it. :)

I read a few books for fun- one in paticular was called "The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofono. 5/5 stars, I loved it! It was about a girl in Witness Protection because she was wanted by the Mafia for witnessing a murder, the Mafia that had also killed her parents.

As I reported on earlier, I read Inheritance, a series which I love although the ending was bittersweet. I also read the sequel to Nightshade, entitled Wolfsbane- it was as awesome as the original. I bought the third one Bloodrose but I haven't read it yet. I also read a Jodi Picoult book titled The Tenth Circle- it was also very fantastic and I absolutely loved it- 5/5.

I discovered the show How I Met Your Mother and I haven't really gotten any reading or writing done since... haha. But seriously, it's the best show ever. Or Scrubs. That's a good one too. I'm currently watching Parks and Recreation since I finished all the episodes of the aforementioned shows. It's decent... but not HIMYM. I could probably start a TV blog with all the TV I've been watching. Actually, writing this post makes me realize I now watch TV (or play Skyrim...) in the time I used to read. Thankfully I know that's only a phase and I'll get back into reading soon, especially when I go to college.

My writing life has all but disappeared. I said I would do NaNoWriMo in December... I did write some, which is great, but nowhere near what I did the year before. I was consumed with college applications at the time and had to let my writing go for a little while. I still have awesome ideas that I open every once in a while. I hope someday when I'm a money making doctor I'll actually get something published (ha).  But seriously, I would love to be a writer, and it was a tough decision deciding not to just go major in English, but I know I'll keep writing because I love it. I have a bunch of awesome story ideas and I will write them down someday. I'm currently doing this re-telling of Sense and Sensibilty in High School that I love because Elinor Dashwood is one of my favorite characters ever written and Marianne reminds me exactly of my sister. We'll see how that one turns out.

Thanks for reading, or not reading. But it felt good for me to update this with all my life's boring details. :)

NaNoWriMo... In December!

To my shame and regret, I didn't participate in NaNoWriMo this year because I spent the entire month of November doing college applications. Really it's a lot of work! But now that I'm (almost) done applying, I plan to sit back and relax during December. Aka, I'm going to start writing again. I have a few new novel ideas that I've set aside for awhile and I'm going to start them up again. I plan to try to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of December. We'll see how that goes. Last year I finished NaNoWriMo at 30,000 words and an almost complete manuscript that I never finished but it was still one of my greatest accomplishments. It gives me the encouragement to try again. I'll probably never return to that one, it was waaaaaay too crappy.

Maybe everyone else will be spending December doing revisions. Or maybe someone would like to join me in attempting to write a novel in December? For me, having 2 weeks off from school will give me plenty of time to sit around my house writing. It's the perfect time of year. Most people are probably super busy around Christmas time, usually it's the opposite for me.

Good luck to anyone trying rapidly to finish up their novels this November!

Book Review: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

I'd be very surprised if I still have people reading this blog, it's been so long since I posted. Anyway... I thought this book was worthy of posting about! FYI when I do post, my posts will be a lot less informal without all the links and stuff that used to take me hours. I don't really have the time or want to put in the energy!

A few months ago I posted a general review on Books 1-3 in the Inheritance Series, you can find it here if you're interested in my background going into this book.

I finished Inheritance! I remember when I read Eragon in Elementary school. I can hardly believe these books have been with me all these years, and the last one came out when I was a senior in high school. I guess that means I haven't changed all that much since I still like them just as much. I know a lot of people say that with Harry Potter, but that was a series I never picked up until 2 years ago, so I can't say I grew up with Harry. I did "grow up" through elem/middle/high school with Eragon though.

My one aim in reading this book was to figure out who that green dragon was on the cover. Obviously the 3rd egg would hatch, and the whole book I was waiting for it to happen. It's not really a spoiler to say that it finally did, but I won't say to who. I will say that I am satisfied with it although I think it could've been better.

The ending was great and terrible at the same time. It reminded me a lot of Lord of the Rings (they get in a ship and sail away into who-knows-where...). I would love to discuss it somewhere else as to not give away spoilers here!

If you like the series at all, read this book. If you're a romance lover or a quick read lover or you hated the other books in the series... I would not recommend this to you. For a fan of the series, it was a terrific book that had me glued to it until the very last page. The first half of the book took me a little over a week, then the second half of the book took me 2 days because I was so into the book.

Now, I have about 50 friends who asked me to borrow it. I have a feeling I won't get this book back for while ;p

Reality (it's great)

Hi, everyone, anyone...

Out of the blue, I got a book in the mail today, and it reminded me that I have a blog.

I got on my blog today and couldn't believe I haven't posted since July. I remember putting those posts up... they don't seem like that long ago! Surely it wasn't 3 months ago?

But the date of that last post- July 8th- was right before a major changing point in my life. I started working 40+ hours a week and I started thinking about college, plus I went on a few vacations... pretty much the pacing of my life changed for real.

You see, I've abandoned my blog before, either for a couple of weeks or months, but I've always thought out it, thought about reading, thought about how I need to get back.

I forgot I have a blog. But I read some great stuff- I read Divergent by Veronica Roth back in July. (And I never even posted about Divergent! It was easily my favorite book of 2011!) I also just finished City of Fallen Angels a few weeks ago- it was also full of awesomeness.

I haven't been writing which makes me sad. Along with my remembrance of blogging I also remembered that National Novel Writing Month is coming up this November! My previous goal had been to finish all my college applications by November 1st, just to get them done with (which is also, coincidentally, my birthday). Now, that is still my goal, but it is so I can have the month of Nov. to get back into writing! I'm really excited for this year, although I didn't win last year (I got to 30,000 words in my novel), I'm hoping for at least a little better this year.

Reality is so much fun when you fully embrace it. Although I wholeheartedly love blogging and love the year I spent doing it, forgetting about my blog was blissful as well. Maybe in November, when college stuff is done, I'll put up a few reviews. (Which would require me to start READING again, haha).

ttyl... hopefully :)

Book Review: Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Forever
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: July 12 2011
My Source: Borrowed ARC

Other Books in Series:
Shiver
Linger

***WARNING: Contains mild spoilers for the 1st two books in the series!***

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Goodreads Summary:

then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy, and their love moved from a curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

now.

That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is the wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be killed in one final, spectacular hunt.

forever.

Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love really change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present, and the future are about to collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever.

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My Review:
I recommend you read my reviews for Shiver and Linger before this one so you know where I'm coming from. I thought Shiver was ok, but I loved Linger, and that was due to the introduction of actually interesting characters- Cole and Isabel. Not that I don't like Sam and Grace (they have an amazing romance) but I think they work better as side characters and I would be lying if I said I didn't occasionally get bored reading the sections of the book from either one of their perspective because it's the same thing over and over.

The first 100 pages were a little difficult to get through because neither of the two couples were talking to each other- either by choice or not. So it was really slow. But after I got past that part, it was unputdownable!

I love seeing how all of the characters in Mercy Falls have grown. In paticular Isabel- probably my favorite to read her sections- I was frustrated with her for a lot of the book but I was so proud of her when she finally took the stand that she needed to at the end. Sam finally overcame the fears crippling him and I was happy for him too.

There's not a whole lot I can think of saying about this book that isn't reiterated from my reviews of the first two books. If you liked the first two books, you'll like Forever as well. I'm not exactly sure about the title though. I wished the ending could've given us a better definition of what forever was for our main characters- it wasn't a cliffhanger but I would've loved an epilogue or something.

In conclusion, if you like romance and emotion and beautiful writing, read this series! Shiver is my least favorite of the three, but if you make it through that one you'll have a treat to look forward to in the final 2. Though I know there are some that disagree with me and think Shiver is better... I guess that means you'll have to read them and decide for yourself!

4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Entwined by Heather Dixon

Title: Entwined
Author: Heather Dixon
Series: None
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: March 29 2011
My Source: ARC from publisher

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Goodreads Summary:

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

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My Review:
Entwined is a re-telling of the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses (link to the wikipedia article here if you've never heard the original story- which I hadn't before reading this book). Knowing it was a fairy tale retelling- which is perhaps my favorite genre ever because it's filled with the 2 best things- fantasy and romance- I was so excited to get an ARC of this book.

The main character, Azalea, is the eldest of 12 sisters (all named after flowers or plants and also alphabetical to their birth order which is very clever and cute of the author). She was a fantastic main character because of the way she carried the responsibility of being the oldest unselfishly but struggled with pursuing her own desires. I could relate to Azalea and really rooted for her. Her sisters were also just as charming and 3-Dimensional- Bramble, the second eldest, was a hilarious trouble-maker, and Clover, the third eldest, who was the most beautiful but had speech issues which she worked to overcome. All the younger sisters were very cute and funny as well.

The thing that lacked in this book was a rich world building. I was never sure if we were in the real world or a fantasy land (most likely some combination of the two) and for all the political stuff this book contained it didn't explain much about the kingdom at all. I would've loved to see an in-depth world being built, but it just wasn't there. So I had trouble placing this story and figuring out what the real stakes of losing the kingdom were.

The romance was subtle, but very sweet. Rather than love-at-first-sight, it was a gradual build up that culminated at the end of the book where I couldn't stop turning the pages. I found myself rooting for all 3 of the eldest sisters to find love and squealing in delight over the fairy-tale ending that was not entirely predictable.

One thing I struggled with though was the lack of a plot for about the 1st half of the book- it took me awhile to get into it because all that was happening was the girls mourning their mother's death and hating their father. Even when the plot and conflict arose, I found it seemed very simple and uncomplicated and like the world-building, it could've been way more in depth.

The writing quality itself was relatively simple, so it wasn't hard to read but it wasn't that fantastic or lyrical either.

Overall, I enjoyed the princesses characters and their love interests the most, but I disliked the lack of depth in plot and world building. I would still recommend this book to anyone who likes fairy tale re-tellings, though I would probably recommend a few better ones first. Still, I'm glad I read it and overall I liked it.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Series: none
Publisher: Dutton
Release Date: December 2 2010
My Source: Won

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Goodreads Summary:

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

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My Review:

LOVED THIS BOOK! It was super hyped up, so I had high expectations for it, and usually those expectations aren't met. But that was not the case here. I understand why everybody loves it now. It made me like contemporary fiction which is not my favorite genre. So real, so funny, so cute, so laugh-out-loud, so perfect!

Little things bugged me here and there- but nothing that was really a big deal. For example, I actually didn't like St. Clair for awhile because he seemed stuck up. (Maybe I was the only one who thought that!) Paticuarly when he made fun of Anna's friend Dave who I couldn't help but think of one of my own friends when I was reading about him. Even so, but the end it worked out very well. Predictable, yes, but nice.

Anna was a brilliant, funny, and clever narrator but very real and human at the same time. Her obsession with movies was a neat plot element that gave her a lot of character and really contrasted with the types of stories/movies her Dad writes. You can see why they don't get along.

Unlike some contemps, the plot was not boring. It was driven by misunderstandings in relationships- a theme that worked very well and seemed almost Shakespeare-ish. I had to keep reading to see what would happen next with Anna and St. Clair!

If you're looking for a fun, unputdownable read this summer, go buy Anna and the French Kiss (yes- buy it! Don't check it out from the library or borrow it- you'll want to own it so you can read it over and over again!). It's a really, really fantastic read!

5 out of 5 stars

In My Mailbox (Sorta, But Not Really...)

Since I sort of made an announcement about leaving my blog 2 weeks ago, I've accomplished more reading than I ever would've thought without the pressure of a blog that needs to be updated! It really is sort of a freeing thing not to be obligated to blog and it makes reading so much more enjoyable. And now it's practically summer I'm going to try to find time to review most of what I read.

I reviewed The Liar Society, a 2011 Debut book earlier this week. In addition, I recently finished Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (already reviewed on Goodreads, hopefully will have it added to the blog soon), along with Entwined by Heather Dixon (another 2011 debut!) and A Spy In The House by Y.S. Lee, and I'm speeding through The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell- I should have it finished soon. And I'm almost finished reading The Great Gatsby for school... who knows, maybe I'll review that too. :p

Another anomaly of my life- besides getting more time to read- is that I've started writing again! I haven't touched my WIP since NaNoWriMo and although I'm still leaving that one be, I started writing some short story fanfiction just for writing practice and I'm starting to outline a new fantasy WIP that I had the idea for awhile ago but haven't had any time to start on. My NaNoWriMo book is certainly not finished but it feels like I don't have anywhere left to go with it. I'll probably come back to it sometime, but I'm moving on for now. I'm so happy to start writing again. I do aspire to be a writer someday, although I'm not going to college for it. For now I'm just going to continue writing and see where it takes me.

I know I labeled this post In My Mailbox. I figured that would imply it was some sort of general update. Not sure why I'm even posting this, I just felt a random desire to.

I haven't actually gotten any books for a very long time (busyness kills) but I have accumulated quite a wish list of books recently released. In fact, I can't believe I don't own some of these yet! I'm been waiting for them to come out for so long. I either need to make some money and go to a bookstore or something........

Divergent by Veronica Roth

• dystopian being compared to the Hunger Games that I've been dying to read ever since I first read the blub? YES!

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

• I'm being extremely careful to stay away from reviews of this one, but let's face it- can Cassandra Clare do anything wrong?

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

• And this one's been out for a few months! Why have I been waiting so long?!?

Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers

• This one actually isn't out yet, but it releases next week and I'm excited!

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

• I've been dying for this book for so long and it's finally out!!!

I know I must be leaving out a few books on this list, but I think if I got every book on this list, I would be happy forever... or that is, until I finished them. This is my ultimate 5- book wish list. Hopefully I'll be getting copies of some of these books soon.

Happy reading anyone who ends up reading this! I'm sorta nervous to see if people still comment on my blog after I wrote that post about practically leaving. (I know a couple of you did on my last book review- THANK YOU!)

Book Review: The Liar Society by Lisa and Laura

Title: The Liar Society
Author: Lisa and Laura Roecker
Series: Liar Society #1
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: March 1 2011

Goodreads Summary:

Kate Lowry didn’t think dead best friends could send e-mails. But when she gets an e-mail from Grace, who died mysteriously a year before, she’s not so sure. When the emails continue, Kate is forced to confront her school’s resident druggie, a sketchy administrator, and even her own demons.

As Kate moves closer and closer to the truth, she teams up with a couple of knights-in-(not so)shining armor–the dangerously attractive, bad boy, Liam and her love-struck neighbor, Seth. The three uncover an ancient secret lurking in the halls of their elite private school with the power to destroy them all.

But the truth doesn’t always set you free. Sometimes it’s only the beginning.

My Review:

Kate's best friend died a year ago and Kate's convinced it's not an accident. Through a series of clues, she solves the mystery that involves her best friend and her private school's secret societies. Mystery is an aspect of a book I LOVE- it's something that usually keeps me reading. However, I didn't find there was quite enough suspense or guessing built in in the plot of this book. I felt like I knew the end the whole time, and for the most part I was right.

In addition, the characters felt flat to me. I never really did make sense or get to know Kate, and Liam, the love interest, was described as a "bad boy" but he never really did anything that made him seem bad. If anything, he was just this perfect, sweet guy who happened to be there for no reason at the right time just to be a perfect love interest for Kate. And Seth- he was adorable at times and I was annoyed with Kate for being annoyed with him! Don't get me wrong- I liked Liam better, but I liked Seth a lot too and I don't think Kate gave him enough credit for being her friend who was always there for her.

Even so, it was a cute, funny book with some great dialouge and situations that kept the pace going. It certainly wasn't boring or slow. The mystery, though predictable, was worthy enough to keep my attention.

I know a lot of people have simply loved this book, so don't let my review discourage you from picking this book up and trying it for yourself. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers of mystery and contemporary high school fiction that's not all fluff. Even so, I had high standards for The Liar Society and I don't think they were quite met.

Cover: 4/5 The pink hair is pretty cute! And I think the cover goes with the book very well. Kate has the private school uniform, and it's a mix between fun (pink hair) and dark (black background). But it's also a little boring and I might easily have passed over it in the store if not for the pink hair.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I Never Thought I Would Say This

I have a confession to make. And I'm not sure if anyone is going to read this post, or if anyone reads my blog anymore. I know it's frustrating when you're following a blogger and they suddenly stop posting. And I feel like I've really let my readers down (if I even have any anymore), so I thought I would explain the situation.

Blogging used to be a lot of fun, something I would make time out of my busy life to sit down and commit to. Even when it felt like I didn't have time, I made the time because I wanted to.

But back when I started blogging, I was a fairly ordinary boring kid with way too much free time. But now I'm moving on with my life and starting to actually DO things. I joined the track team, I auditioned for jazz choir and made it, I got my first job (lifeguarding!), and I got my own car. All in the last few weeks. Not to mention I'm going to college in a year and have been taking ACT/SAT's, planning visits, and worrying. It's not like I wasn't involved in things like this before- I've taken piano lessons for years, sang in treble choir, and I acted in the Fall school play.

But I'm just starting to focus so much more on my actual life that time to sit down and browse the internet and blogs just doesn't feel valuable to me. It used to be my release from the business of everyday life, but now it feels like it's just something I keep putting off. I procrastinate getting on my blog because I don't have anything to say.

I still LOVE reading though. Reading is still my escape- just maybe blogging isn't so much anymore. I guess I'm also getting sick of blogging making reading feel like such a chore- I have to review ARC's, I get daily review requests.... I guess I'm complaining, aren't I? So pretty much I've completely ignored by blog for the last month. (and my blog email, for the most part. I read it but haven't replied to anything in forever.)

I'm not trying to put down blogging, I just don't think it's something I can follow through with anymore. It's way too much of a chore for me, and I need to make time for the other things going on in my life.

I never thought I would say this, honestly. Up until the recent hiatuses I've been taking, blogging was my passion and escape. But now, I really think I'm just a different person. Nothing better or worse, just different.

I'm not deleting my blog or anything. I don't think I could EVER bring myself to do that. I've put so much hard work into it. And I'm not saying I'm going to stop posting, either. Summer is coming up, and even though I have a job I probably will have more time to read. I hope to continue posting reviews after I finish books because critically thinking about a book is still something I love to do, and that is really the main purpose of this blog.

So I'm not going away! But I am moving on.... I guess this is just an apology, if anyone actually reads it. I just had to say something about the way my life is going right now and the future of my blog, which looks pretty narrow.

But I love all the people I've gotten to know and amazing new things I've learned about the book publishing and writing world! And I won't stop stalking a few of my favorite bloggers because I still love to know what kinds of new books are out there. So even if I lay low on my blog perhaps indefinitely (minus hopefully occasional reviews!), I still have had a great experience and I appreciate if any of you have been there to share it with me or have been one of the MANY bloggers I admire!

Book Review: The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dark and Hollow Places (Goodreads/Amazon)
Author: Carrie Ryan
Series: The Forest of Hands and Teeth #3
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Release Date: March 22 2011
Other Books In Series:
The Forest of Hands and Teeth
The Dead-Tossed Waves

Goodreads Summary:
There are many things that Annah would like to forget: the look on her sister's face before Annah left her behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, her first glimpse of the Horde as they swarmed the Dark City, the sear of the barbed wire that would scar her for life. But most of all, Annah would like to forget the morning Elias left her for the Recruiters.
Annah's world stopped that day, and she's been waiting for Elias to come home ever since. Somehow, without him, her life doesn't feel much different than the dead that roam the wasted city around her. Until she meets Catcher, and everything feels alive again.
But Catcher has his own secrets. Dark, terrifying truths that link him to a past Annah has longed to forget, and to a future too deadly to consider. And now it's up to Annah: can she continue to live in a world covered in the blood of the living? Or is death the only escape from the Return's destruction?

My Review:
The final installment in Carrie Ryan's zombie trilogy did not disappoint, though I don't think it quite lived up to the full awesomeness of it's predecessor.

The strength of this series is the realness of the characters. I really liked Annah- she was strong enough to survive in The Dark City (aka New York as seen in I Am Legend with a few more humans and just as many zombies), and yet she was fragile about her appearance and her scarred face as any girl would be. Though it was a little strange seeing how she hated Gabry, who I've come to know and appreciate after being in her head in The Dead-Tossed Waves.

Here's what I didn't like about this book- and I apologize that I talk about this a lot in reviews- it lacked an engaging plot. I felt like the book dragged on and didn't really go anywhere, even by the end. There were a couple of action scenes, a pretty good romance (I've always loved Catcher, even in the previous book), but that's about it in terms of the plot.

The tone of this book is very dark- the whole world is taken over by zombies- and the whole time I felt like there really was no hope. Carrie Ryan did an amazing job portraying the feeling of aloneness this futuristic world, but I never really felt more than that desolateness. This book lacked other emotions, maybe even the whole series did. It was hard to root for Annah (even though I was) when nobody in the book had hope for the situation and it never really got better. The end was a disappointment just because I knew it was the end of the series and it still left us with hardly any resolution to a solution to any problem. Some people might disagree with me here, or at least that this was bad, but that's how I felt upon the conclusion. It's not like I think every book has to have a happy ending, but I think the ending should mean something more. Also, if you're looking for cheery books, this is not the way to go.

I still liked it a lot though. The characters, world, and emotions were beautifully created. Read this book if you're a fan of Carrie Ryan's previous books. It might not be neccesary to read them first, but I'd recommend it. My favorite of the three is still The Dead-Tossed Waves. I wish we could've got a better resolution to the zombie infested world (or Carrie Ryan would just write us more!).

Cover: 5/5 Creepy but perfect!

4 out of 5 stars

In My Mailbox (21)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren.












Won:
Born At Midnight (Goodreads/Amazon)

From the Library:
A Spy in The House by Y.S. Lee (Goodreads/Amazon)
The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell (Goodreads/Amazon)

Thanks to: Blkosiner's Book Blog

A pretty OK week for me! Sorry I haven't had any time to post. Don't expect much from me this week either- I'll be out of town for most of it. I'll try to get one review up, though.

What was in your mailbox this week?

Book Review: Awakened by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Title: Awakened (Goodreads/Awakened)
Author: P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: Jan. 4 2011
Other Titles In Series:
Burned

Goodreads Summary:

At the start of Awakened, the pulse-pounding eighth installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey has returned, mostly whole, from the Otherworld to her rightful place as High Priestess at the House of Night. Her friends are just glad to have her back, but after losing her human consort, Heath, will Zoey—or her relationship with her super- hot Warrior, Stark—ever be the same? Stevie Rae is drawn even closer to Rephaim, the Raven Mocker with whom she shares a mysterious and powerful Imprint, but he is a dangerous secret that isolates her from her school, her red fledglings, and even her best friends. When the dark threat of Neferet—who is coming closer and closer to achieving her twisted goal of immortality—and Kalona returns, what will it take to keep the House of Night from being lost forever, and what will one desperate girl do to keep her heart from being irreparably broken?

My Review:

I cannot give you a concise reason why I continue to read this series. I'm so sick of it, and sometimes I feel like throwing my book across the room, because nothing new ever seems to happen. There hasn't been a new plot development since Kalona in book 4 or 5! I checked Awakened out from the library with not much of an intention in reading it (because my TBR pile is huge!) but I found myself getting sucked in anyway!

The House of Night books aren't terrible. I enjoy them, I just feel like there's so many of them that they should end sometime soon. Awakened didn't do that much for me- it was certainly entertaining and I enjoyed revisting old characters I'd loved, but it lacked an aire of mystery of intrigue in regards to the plot. I think because we get to see from every character's POV we know what they're all up to and it takes away from the mystery or suspense of what the "bad guys" are planning, since we see them plan also.

There were some sad tragic moments in this book though! But it almost seems like they were thrown in there just because nothing else was happening, so the deaths would perk the readers attention again. The death at the beginning (whose name I wouldn't mention for fear of spoilers- but I will say it was a main-ish character) seemed pointless and only thrown in there for tears sake, not to add to the plot.

There are other vampire series I'd recommend before this one... but if you like your vampire series, you should try House of Night. Start at the beginning- the first ones are a lot better. I also want to note I think these books should only be read by the more mature spectrum of YA readers, as there is frequent strong language and a lot of implied sexual content. That's one thing that's bugged me a little throughout the whole series, though I guess it doesn't bother everyone.

3 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr

Title: Darkest Mercy (Goodreads/Amazon)
Author: Melissa Marr
Series: Wicked Lovely #5
Release Date: Feb. 22 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins
My Source: ARC Tour
Other Books in Series: Ink Exchange

Goodreads Summary:

The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.

Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.

Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything.

The thrilling conclusion to Melissa Marr's New York Times bestselling Wicked Lovely series will leave readers breathless.

My Review:

Darkest Mercy, the last book of the Wicked Lovely series, begins with chaos. The courts are in disorder, people are missing, the regents in all the faery courts are all relatively new at their jobs. Most of the characters from the previous books in the series are back and we see all their stories tie together in the end as they fight the faery called War and struggle to find the neccesary balance between the courts.

I love the faery courts and the faery world Marr has invented. Aislinn, Keenan, Donia, Niall, Seth, Irial... they're all some of my favorite characters. I've gotten to know them over the course of listening to this series on audiobook (though I read an ARC copy of Darkest Mercy) and I like them a lot. It's sad to see their stories come to an end, but I enjoy the way it ended. It was perfect.

The plot of Darkest Mercy was very similar to the previous 2 books in the series, meaning it's slow and almost not really there. There's a couple of small battles and one big battle and that's the whole plot. This is easily my biggest complaint with the series- it's hard to keep reading at times when it's going slow. Still, I consider it worthwhile.

So while at times the series gets a little slow for me, it's very well written and worthwhile to read the Wicked Lovely series. Darkest Mercy (what a perfect title!) put a cap on all the stories and ended the series beautifully.

4 out of 5 Stars

Cover: 4.5/5 Beautiful! I love the covers and book titles in this series. The titles are some of my all-time favorite titles. Wicked Lovely, Fragile Eternity, Darkest Mercy... :)

ARC's for Trade

If you would like to recieve an ARC that I've already read, I'm very happy to offer it up for trade! I'm willing to trade any of the books below for other ARC copies or finished copies of YA books released around the same time period. (Last year or two.) Just send me an email with your proposition. I will be pretty accepting of anything I haven't read yet and I'll be happy to send you one of my ARC's from the list. This post will be constantly updated as I finish reading new ARC's and give away old ones. I'm going to add it on my sidebar, so feel free to check the list constantly! In my IMM posts I'll also let you know if I've added anything new to the list.

Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer (This is a fantastic book! See my review)

From the Dead by John Herrick (My Review)

Logic of Demons by H.A. Goodman

Manifest by Artist Arthur (My Review)

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (My Review)

Cloaked by Alex Flinn

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

Inheritance Series Book 4: News and Opinions

I'm here to discuss a paticular book series that I've noticed most people either love or hate... the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. Information about the last book, aptly titled Inheritance, was just released by Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers.

An excerpt from the press release:

ALFRED A. KNOPF BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS REVEALS
TITLE AND COVER FOR
FINAL BOOK IN CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI’S
#1 BESTSELLING INHERITANCE CYCLE

BOOK FOUR IN THE INHERITANCE CYCLE WILL GO
ON SALE NOVEMBER 8, 2011

New York, NY (March 23, 2011)—Eagerly awaited by millions around the
world, the triumphant conclusion to Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle will
arrive this fall, it was announced today by Nancy Hinkel, Vice President,
Publishing Director of Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of
Random House Children’s Books (www.randomhouse.com/teens). Following the #1
bestselling novels Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr, the fourth and final book in
the series will be titled INHERITANCE, a fitting designation for the concluding
novel in Paolini’s epic fantasy.

“The burning questions asked by fans
around the world will finally be answered in this last installment,” said
Christopher Paolini. “All will be revealed!”

You might not agree with me, but I am very, very excited for this book! I happen to really enjoy this series. The first and second books were mostly so-so, with a few brilliant moments, but I really enjoyed the third book when I read it two years ago. I've been awaiting the 4th book ever since then. I love any kind of traditional fantasy and I've always thought the dragons were amazing.

Secondly, I've met a lot of people that just seem to really, really hate this series. I understand it might seem like a copy of "Lord of the Rings" or any other traditional fantasy, but aren't they all pretty similar? Yeah, there's magic, dragons, elves, dwarves, and evil ruler... I think this is pretty awesome stuff!

But I do see why people dislike the series. Fans of more contemporary YA books might find some of the length and excessiveness of plot boring (Which it is at times) and the romance shallow (Which it definitely is! It is irritating!). And if fantasy isn't your genre, I wouldn't recommend reading Eragon. I remember begging my sister to read them in junior high (and she's a pretty big reader as well) but she quit halfway through, bored, because she's never liked
fantasy at all.

But I still think the Eragon books present a really facinating world, with flaws in the characters but an interesting plot and as a fantasy lover, I can never get enough of that awesome genre.

Oh, and for a sidenote: A few years ago, after I finished the second book I made a prediction on the color of the third book. I guess it seems pretty obvious that it should be green, but to have my prediction confirmed was pretty awesome. ;)

Anyway, what are your thoughts? Are you a lover or a hater? Are you excited or could you care less?

And while I'm waiting, do you have any good suggestions for other traditional fantasy series? I love to hear about new ones!

Interview w/ Kate O'Hegarty (Mieradome)

Today I have a special guest here to answer a few questions. Please welcome Kate O'Hegarty, the author of Mieradome for an interview as part of the Mieradome Blog Tour!

Author Bio:
Kate has a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts from Goddard College. She has been an international traveler since she was 7 years old which has helped shape Kate's active imagination and writing style. She currently lives in the Central Valley of California. Mieradome is her debut novel.

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Bold=Ava
Regular=Kate

Describe Mieradome in 10 words or less.

Faeries. Good & evil with a twist. Dragons. Adventure. Mystery.

What kind of reader do you want to target with your book (age group/preferred genre/etc.)?

I’d like to target young teens 11+ who love fantasy books, but I think the book can also be interesting to older teens too. I think this story really does well in that younger market.

There's a start of a love triangle between Amavia, Garin, and Caiden. Could you tell us the differences between the two and possible who you prefer?

The differences between the two love interests is simple, one guy she is drawn to but doesn’t know much about (Caiden); the other guy she is also drawn to and knows much more about him, but possibly more than she really wants to know about him, as it may not all be good (Garin). Regarding my preference for Amavia, I haven’t one actually. I think things will fall in place for Amavia based on fate, and luck.

I'll add that I'm rooting for Caiden in this scenario! I thought they had a real connection at the beginning and would love to see them end up together.

It's mentioned in the book description, but how did "Alice in Wonderland" influence or relate to your story?

I’ve always been inspired by Lewis Carroll’s story and I like that idea of a young girl going to a strange land and trying to make sense of it all. For Amavia it is about acceptance, ultimately, acceptance of who she really is, whether that is good or evil in the end.

How did you come up with all the interesting and unique names used in the book?

Most of the names are actually surnames that are in use today (people living currently use those names.) Some examples of surnames used in Mieradome are: Amavia (after actress Daniella Amavia), Thewlis (after actor David Thewlis.) Other surnames are Feig and Inocian. Some names I made up, like Naidrau, Ditto (which is based on an inside joke between my sister and I.) My sister is actually the dogsledder Shannon Moana Whetu Hine in my book.

In most "faery tales", there is an underlying message. What do you want your readers to take away from reading Mieradome?

I’d like people to take away from Mieradome a sense of mystery and how we perceive people. The essence of Mieradome is Amavia slowly seeing who she really is, and if it’s possible for her to change that. I want people to look closely and contemplate what they would do if they were in Amavia’s or Aselin’s shoes.

Do you have a favorite character, or one whose scenes are just a lot of fun to write about?

Ditto was one of my favorite characters to write because he’s very much a satire of myself. I grumble a lot when I don’t like something or don’t want to participate in something, and I’m very sarcastic. The scene where Ditto flies from the Twirling Twisted Tower to save Amavia and he’s talking to himself, yep…that’s me all right!

What was the best part of the whole process of getting your book published?

The best part is hearing that people really enjoyed my book. I worked very hard on it for myself, but also that everyone out there got swept away in the story. I hope the book takes people on a grand adventure.

Why did you choose to write about faeries in a fantasy type of setting? (They're one of my favorite mythical creatures!)

I actually didn’t set out to write about faeries. I honestly have never thought about faeries before. But one day I had a dream about an oak tree and a raven, a bright light disappears into the tree and a girl is watching the whole scenario play out in front of her. Ironically, ravens and an oak tree is on my family’s, The Hegarty’s, coat of arms. I thought about what the light was that disappeared into the tree, and being Irish I guessed it was a faerie, and the story just took off from there. It just felt right that faeries were the main characters.

How long approximately did it take to write Mieradome?

It took me about a year to get the bare bones of the story down. I actually started writing on Halloween of 2002. I spent the next years editing & writing more of the story (I have a sequel, The Saskatoon Balloon, planned.) And then ultimately it took 8 years until the book was finally published.

Did you have to do a lot of research on faery myths to incorporate into the story?

I’m Irish and I grew up with the faery myths, it’s part of my cultural tapestry, so I didn’t have to look far to be inspired. My parents actually have a gold horseshoe over our front door and it’s the first thing that goes up in the house when we move. We’re kinda superstitious, so things like the ravens come from the old myths, but also from real life.

At the end of the book there are some very loose ends. Do you have plans for (or have you already written) a sequel? Or is it going to be a series?

Yes, I do have plans for a sequel, which I am trying to finish as we speak! It is called The Saskatoon Balloon, and it will be an even darker book than the first one. The sequel will delve more into Amavia’s true inner self and show how her friends deal with that info once they know. I’m hoping to get it out in the fall of 2011.

Just for fun: If you could spend a day in any place at any time in the past, where would you go and why?

If I could go to any place for a day at any time, I would go to the 1920’s and visit my grandmother and her 3 sisters. I never knew any of them, so it would be cool to hang out with family and see myself through them.

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Thanks for the interview! If you haven't read my review of Mieradome, check it out! Also, over at Kate's website, you can find a cool video where she explains how she came up with the idea for the book in detail. (I didn't ask her because I'd seen the video!)

Find Kate Online:
Mieradome WebsiteBlog
Twitter